Pakistan may ask for fresh dossier on the trial of Ajmal Kasab

The Pakistani authorities may ask their Indian counterparts to send a fresh dossier on the trial of Ajmal Kasab, as they believe the earlier one has lost its importance following the recent retraction by the lone Pakistani terrorist captured alive during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Interior ministry sources said the main source of information in the dossier remained the accused, Ajmal Kasab, who retracted his confession, saying he was forced and tortured to make the statements by his captors.

Therefore, the sources said, instead of insisting that Pakistan act on the information that is more than 90% based on Kasab’s statement, the Indian government should come up with fresh and solid information on the “actual planners” of the Mumbai attacks, which could help Pakistan track down the culprits on its side of the border, if there are any.

The sources said the Pakistani authorities made it clear to India that the dossier was inadequate to prosecute the alleged mastermind and facilitators, especially Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, chief operational commander, Lashkar-e-Taiba, who is being tried by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi along with five others.

Foreign office spokes-person Abdul Basit expressed dissatisfaction over the dossier, saying the evidence provided against Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed was inadequate. “It needs to be underlined that we have received information material from India, but the material contained in that dossier regarding Hafiz Saeed is not really enough and doesn’t strengthen our hands to proceed legally,” he said.